The invention relates to a carrier device for attachment to a pane of a motor vehicle. The carrier device comprises a base plate which can be secured on the pane. A carrier arrangement of the carrier device is formed to hold a housing at least of a camera. The invention furthermore relates to a pane of a motor vehicle to which such a carrier device is attached.
DE 10 2008 050 320 A1 describes a carrier device which is positioned on a windscreen of the motor vehicle. A base plate of the carrier device is secured on the pane for this purpose by means of an adhesive. A carrier arrangement for securing a housing of a camera on the base plate comprises a frame which is formed as one piece with the base plate. Spring elements are provided on the frame in the form of a B-shaped metal bracket, the spring elements pressing the camera housing against an opposite wall of the frame when the camera housing is inserted into the frame. Furthermore, curved leaf springs are provided on the base plate which clamp the camera housing in corresponding holders in a direction facing away from the pane by means of rod-shaped components which protrude from the camera housing.
The mounting of the spring elements on the base plate and on the frame thereof is accompanied by a certain amount of effort. In addition, it can be difficult to achieve a positioning of the camera housing by means of the spring element relative to the base plate and thus also relative to the pane of the motor vehicle, on which the base plate is to be placed, the positioning being required for the alignment of the camera.
DE 10 2011 121 003 A1 shows an alternative carrier device for attachment to a windscreen, in which the above-mentioned B-shaped spring element in the frame of the base plate is replaced by a V-shaped spring element. This carrier device also has the curved leaf springs and associated holders to clamp the housing of a camera in a direction facing away from the windscreen.
DE 10 2012 101 781 A1 and PCT/JP/2013/055631 show carrier devices in which the camera is attached to the carrier device at three points by means of three pins or rod-shaped components located on the camera housing.
The object of the present invention is to create a carrier device of the type described above as well as a pane of a motor vehicle having such a carrier device which enables an improved positioning of the at least one camera relative to the base plate, and thus relative to the pane on which the base plate is to be positioned and secured.
The carrier device according to the invention having a base plate which is able to be secured to a pane of a motor vehicle, on which base plate a carrier arrangement is formed to hold a housing of at least one camera, characterized in that the carrier arrangement comprises at least one holding element having at least one spring element, which is formed to apply pressure directly to a rod-shaped component which is arranged on the housing and protrudes beyond a wall of the housing, the pressure acting in the direction towards the base plate. In other words, with respect to a positioning of the carrier device 10 on the pane of a motor vehicle, the housing of the camera is pressed in the direction of the pane by the at least one holding element. Thus, according to the invention, a transparent region to be provided on the pane for the at least one camera can be formed to be comparably small because the size of a cone of vision or detection region of the camera is reduced by each degree of approximation of the camera to the pane: a distance reduced by one millimeter between the camera and the pane results in a diameter reduced by five millimeters for the cone of vision of the camera at the level of the pane through which the at least one camera detects the surroundings.
In the case of a black print to be provided on the pane, which serves for the optical lamination of the carrier device, the required clearance for the cone of vision may be smaller. A cap which covers the camera with respect to the passenger compartment can also be correspondingly sized to be smaller when the camera housing is arranged relatively close to the base plate.
Furthermore, with this type of fastening, no direct forces are introduced into the housing of the camera, but the pressure exerted by the holding elements with the springs acts only on the rod-shaped components protruding beyond the walls of the housing of the camera. The carrier device thus enables an improved positioning of the camera.
The carrier arrangement preferably comprises three holding elements which are arranged on respectively different sides of a receiving region of the carrier device provided for the housing of the camera. Such a fixing of the camera housing on three mounting points which are allocated to a receiving area and provided by the holding elements ensures that the position of the mounted camera housing can be defined particularly well. A movement of the camera housing relative to the base plate, i.e., wobbling, can thus be largely avoided. This is particularly advantageous because, in order to fulfill the tasks to be carried out by the camera, its stable, clear and defined positioning relative to the base plate and thus relative to the pane of the motor vehicle is particularly important.
The receiving region provided for the housing of the camera can, in particular, be substantially rectangular since the housing of the camera can also have a substantially rectangular base area.
Two different receiving regions can be provided on the base plate, wherein three holding elements are respectively allocated to the respective receiving region. In this case, two of the two holding elements may be allocated to the same receiving region. As a result, it is possible to attach either a housing with two cameras, i.e., a so-called stereo camera, or a housing for only one camera, i.e., a so-called mono camera, to the carrier device by means of three respective holding elements. Nevertheless, the carrier device as a whole requires only four holding elements for three holding elements to be allocated to the respective receiving region. One holding element, which is allocated to the receiving region provided for the mono camera when the stereo camera is arranged on the carrier device, remains unused. Likewise, when the mono camera is arranged on the carrier device in the receiving region provided for the mono camera, the holding element which is allocated to the receiving region for the stereo camera remains unused.
By providing the three holding elements per receiving region for the housing of the at least one camera, an angle, which the at least one camera should have with respect to the base plate and thus to the pane, can be reproduced with particularly high accuracy.
Two of the three holding elements can be arranged on sides of the receiving region which run at least substantially in parallel to longitudinal sides of the motor vehicle with respect to a positioning of the carrier device 10 on the pane of the motor vehicle. An orientation of the camera housing relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle can be set by securing two rod-shaped components to these two holding elements. If the two holding elements arranged on the sides of the receiving region are arranged in such a way that the rod-shaped components secured to these are aligned with one another, an axis of rotation for the housing results in an advantageous manner. By pivoting the camera housing about this axis of rotation, an angle of the camera housing relative to the base plate can then be adjusted in a particularly simple and secure manner by securing a third rod-shaped component to a third one of the three holding elements.
The two holding elements arranged on the sides of the receiving region each preferably have an insertion region which leads to respective locking recesses for the respective rod-shaped component. A mounting direction for the housing of the at least one camera running at least substantially parallel to the base plate is predetermined by the insertion region. Such a mounting direction is advantageous since it necessary to ensure that pressure applied to the pane when the camera housing is mounted is not excessive. Installation kinematics of the camera housing improved in this way result in greater forces being able to be applied in parallel to the pane during mounting without incurring the risk of damage to the pane. A particularly simple mounting results when the mounting direction coincides with the inclination of the panes when the pane is tilted. For example, the housing can be installed substantially from top to bottom when it is moved in parallel to the base plate.
The locking recesses ensure a positive-locking securing of the rod-shaped components and thus a positive-locking attachment of the camera housing to the carrier device in the event of collision. The locking recesses namely prevent the housing of the at least one camera from moving in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle as soon as the rod-shaped components are received in the locking recesses of the two holding elements.
It has been shown to be a further advantage when the mounting direction points in a forward travel direction of the motor vehicle with respect to a positioning of the carrier device 10 on the pane of the motor vehicle, wherein the insertion regions of the two holding elements are formed to open against the mounting direction in a U shape or V shape. Such a formation of the insertion regions is advantageous, for example, in the event of a frontal collision of the motor vehicle, since the housing of the at least one camera is then held securely in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, in which the insertion regions taper.
A third of the two holding elements is preferably arranged on a side of the receiving region which is closer to a vehicle front than to a vehicle rear with respect to a positioning of the carrier device 10 on the pane of the motor vehicle. In other words, the third holding element can be provided on a front side of the receiving region. The side of the housing of the at least one camera which is opposite this front side can then be used for the provision of connectors or the like without the rod-shaped component being in the way.
It has been shown to be a further advantage if an indentation or depression is formed in a base region of the third holding element, into which indentation or depression a rod-shaped component projecting in the mounting direction beyond a wall of the housing can be inserted.
The housing of the camera can be mounted in a particularly simple manner by introducing the rod-shaped component into the depression. This is particularly true if the rod-shaped component projecting in the mounting direction beyond the wall of the housing is longer than the two rod-shaped components provided on the sides of the camera housing. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the introduction of the rod-shaped component into the depression, the rod-shaped component can be chamfered or conically tapered.
On the other hand, the rod-shaped components to be received in the two locking recesses are preferably formed to be round and to have a smooth surface in order to ensure as easy an installation as possible of the camera housing.
It has been found to be a further advantage if a height of the third holding element is adjusted depending on an inclination of the pane of the motor vehicle and a detection region of the at least one camera. Thus, by changing the height of the holding element, the otherwise unchanged carrier device can be used very simply in vehicle model ranges which have different pane inclinations. This is then particularly easy, in particular, if the base plate and the base body of the holding elements which is formed as one piece with this are made of a plastic, for example, when producing the carrier device in an injection molding process. In particular, in the case of a tool used for the production of the base plate, only an exchangeable insert needs to be used, by means of which the height of the third holding element can be predetermined. Therefore, the entire tool does not need to be reproduced in order to produce the base plate. In fact, it is sufficient to equip the otherwise unchanged tool with only one exchangeable insert to be provided for the shaping of the third holding element.
In addition or alternatively, spacers arranged on the first side of the base plate can be adjusted in height depending on an inclination of the pane. Here too, when the base plate is produced from a plastic, it is possible to use exchangeable inserts which result in different heights of the spacers depending on the inclination of the pane provided in the vehicle model range. Thus, irrespective of the pane inclination present in the respective vehicle model range, a desired angle can be predefined at which the at least one camera detects the surroundings in relation to the horizontal.
The at least one spring element of the at least one holding element, which serves to apply pressure to the rod-shaped component acting in the direction towards the base plate, is preferably formed from a metal. Metal spring elements are particularly elastic and robust. In particular, simple leaf springs can be used as metallic spring elements, the leaf spring being able to be produced to be pure, small and inexpensive. In addition, such spring elements can be arranged in respective base bodies of the holding elements as early as the production stage of the base plate with particularly low effort. This results in production advantages when equipping the motor vehicle with the carrier device and with the housing for the camera. A mechanical installation of the spring elements can be carried out, for example, via round table robots or other automated techniques.
The spring element advantageously has a securing element which prevents the spring element from being detached from the base body of the holding element. For example, a tab or the like formed in the manner of an undercut can be provided which springs back into its installation position when the spring element is moved and then engages with the base body in the state where the spring element is arranged on the base body of the holding element.
A diaphragm element can be provided on the at least one camera, the diaphragm element being able to be secured to the base plate. Such a diaphragm element, for example in the form of a lens hood, which can be detachably secured to the base plate, allows a desired equipping of the base plate with the respective diaphragm element, depending on the equipping of the carrier device with one or two cameras. The securing of the diaphragm element to the base plate can be carried out, for example, by clipping or similar. By means of the detachable holding of the diaphragm element on the base plate, a diaphragm element which is adapted in shape to the respective camera type can be used.
Furthermore, it is possible to provide different materials and surfaces or also paints for the diaphragm element which may deviate from those of the base plate. The diaphragm element can therefore be adapted particularly well to its respective application purpose and yet can be provided already detachably attached to the base plate.
Such a diaphragm element, which can be secured to the base plate, may have a heating device. As a result, it is possible to apply heat energy to the region of the pane which is to be kept clear of mist in order to ensure that the camera can see through the pane clearly. By integrating the heating device into the diaphragm element, the area of the pane in which a lens of the camera is located can be applied with heat energy in a precise manner. In addition, a heating wire or the like do not need to be provided in the pane when a heating wire or a similar heating means is arranged in the diaphragm element. This reduces the variants of the pane to be provided depending on the equipping of the vehicle with one or two (or no) camera and is therefore particularly advantageous.
In the event of failure of the heating device, the diaphragm element can also be exchanged in a particularly simple manner. A connection of the heating device of the diaphragm element to a vehicle electrical system can also be achieved in a particularly simple manner by connection means for a corresponding distribution device being provided on the base plate, via which distribution device heating wires or the like can be supplied with electrical energy provided by the vehicle electrical system.
Finally, it has been shown to be advantageous if the carrier device comprises at least one cover element which can be broken out of the base plate, by means of which a recess in the base plate provided for a camera or an additional sensor can be closed. If the carrier device is not equipped with the camera or the additional sensor, the cover element can then be left on the base plate to close the recess. This ensures a protection of components arranged on the carrier device and—in the installation position of the carrier device—of the pane from dust.
Furthermore, a carrier device designed principally for holding a housing of a stereo camera can be used to hold the housing of a mono camera, and the recess provided for the second camera remains closed by means of the at least one cover element. A predetermined breaking point is preferably provided for a reliable breaking out of the at least one cover element.
The pane of a motor vehicle according to the invention is equipped with a carrier device according to the invention by gluing in an exact position. By means of an exact positioning of the carrier arrangement of the carrier device on the pane, the housing of the at least one camera can be attached thereto in such a way that, after installation of the pane in the motor vehicle, surroundings of the motor vehicle can be recorded at least in regions by means of the at least one camera. In this case, the carrier arrangement enables a simple and low-cost securing of the housing of the at least one camera on the base plate of the carrier device, namely in an angular position as is provided for detecting at least the region of the surroundings of the motor vehicle. A secure holding of the housing of the at least one camera on the base plate is hereby ensured, wherein relative movements between the housing of the camera and the carrier device are largely prevented. This ensures that a desired alignment of an optical axis of the camera relative to the pane of the motor vehicle is fulfilled in a particularly precise manner. The positioning of the camera on the pane is thus improved by all advantages of the carrier device according to the invention.
The advantages and preferred embodiments described for the carrier device according to the invention also apply to the pane of the motor vehicle according to the invention and vice versa.
The features and feature combinations referred to in the description, as well as the features and feature combinations referred to below in the description of the figures and/or shown solely in the figures can be used not only in each specified combination but also in other combinations or alone without leaving the scope of the invention. Thus, embodiments are also to be considered as being comprised and disclosed by the invention which are not explicitly shown or explained in the figures, but which arise and can be produced by separate feature combinations from the described embodiments.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention arise from the claims, the following description of preferred embodiments, and with the aid of the drawings, in which the same or functionally equivalent elements are provided with identical reference numerals.